Post by Nester the Lark on Jul 11, 2015 18:50:47 GMT -5

So, it's been a week, and Red Ash isn't even at the halfway point yet. They pushed the stretch goal for the extra chapters down a bit to make room for a console port goal, but that doesn't seem to have helped any.

I'm not really invested in it one way or another, but I think this is kind of interesting. Knowing how upset fans were about the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3, this is likely the closest they will ever get to a revival. Still, it just isn't generating much interest. Why do you guys think this is? Is it Kickstarter fatigue, having the misfortune of following up three of the most successful campaigns of all-time? Is it skepticism towards Inafune, who's trying to push a lot of things out there before Mighty No 9 is even released (and for some reason, a faction of backers seem to be disgruntled about)? Maybe fans have just gotten over it at this point, and aren't really invested in a Mega Man Legends clone? Or maybe it's just the perfect storm of all of these factors combined?

Post by Leon on Jul 12, 2015 4:35:34 GMT -5

I hope the real reason is that people have finally woken up to how creatively bankrupt Inafune is. He had the opportunity to create something new and interesting with his creative freedom, but instead he's cynically exploiting people's nostalgia of old Capcom games. Love them or hate them, you have to respect that Platinum and Valhalla have avoided making cheap clones of their previous works.

Post by kirbychu on Jul 14, 2015 12:38:35 GMT -5

I don't think it's fair to say Inafune's creatively bankrupt. ReCore sounds pretty unique and awesome. And though I haven't played it, Soul Sacrifice sounded like a really cool concept I haven't seen done before too. It's not like the Mighty No. 9 series is all he's working on.

And, as much as I love Kamiya, Bayonetta is essentially a Devil May Cry game.

Post by Leon on Jul 14, 2015 21:35:48 GMT -5

Calling ReCore and Soul Sacrifice Inafune games is about as accurate as calling Splatoon or Steel Diver Miyamoto games. They came from his company, but they're the works of other staff members.

As for the comparisons, you know exactly what I meant. Nobody would confuse Bayonetta and DMC, nor would anyone confuse Devil's Third for Ninja Gaiden, or The Wonderful 101 for Viewtiful Joe. On the other hand Mighty No. 9 is a cynical cash in on people's nostalgia for Mega Man, and now Mega Man Legends. This isn't even a tribute to the history of Mega Man, but a knockoff designed only to take as much money from Capcoms scorned fans as possible.

Post by kirbychu on Jul 15, 2015 5:48:59 GMT -5

No, The reason I mentioned ReCore and Soul Sacrifice and not Gunvolt or Ninja Gaiden Z is that they ARE Inafune games.

I'm not sure what the distinction you're making here is. Nobody is confusing Mighty No. 9 and Mega Man. Nobody thinks Red Ash is ACTUALLY Legends 3. They are literally as similar as Bayonetta is to DMC and Wonderful 101 is to Viewtiful Joe. Wonderful 101 even has Joe in it! Only edited juuuuust enough to stop Capcom from suing. I'm not saying any of this is a bad thing, I love all of these games. But I honestly can't think of a developer who's left a big studio, leaving behind something they created, and not gone on to create a spiritual successor to it. Kamiya did it with Bayonetta and Wonderful 101, Yuji Naka's making Rodea, Playtonic are making Yooka-Laylee, Tetsuya Takahashi is making Xenoblade... Even going further back, Interplay made Fallout when they lost the ability to make a Wasteland sequel. And Walt Disney made Mickey when he couldn't use Oswald any more. So if Inafune is going to be called creatively bankrupt for making a spiritual successor, all of these people have to be as well.

I honestly don't think these games are in any way a bad thing. Even though I won't be backing Red Ash, I think it's a good thing that it exists. Calling it a cynical cash in doesn't fit, because it's a successor to a game Capcom deemed unprofitable. And to defend Capcom on this is just blind fanboyism, because Capcom have made it clear they have no interest in doing anything for Mega Man fans. Inafune's giving them the games they want that the big business refuses to make. The only downside is that Capcom don't get our money for it. But do they really deserve it anyway?

Post by Nester the Lark on Jun 21, 2016 14:24:57 GMT -5

Based on the demo I've had since last fall, I thought it was a decent game. Comparing it to the Mega Man X series (which I feel is a better comparison than with the original series), it's not as good as the best of those games, but way better than the worst. It's no masterpiece, but I'd play MN9 over MMX6 any day.

A lot of the issues fans have are justified. It's not a great looking game (although I think there are some nice flourishes). There are apparently numerous technical issues. The campaign could've had more transparency. But I do believe them when they say most of the issues came from biting off more than they could chew, committing to literally 10 different platforms and adding online modes. (I would believe it if they said the 3DS version was their bottleneck.) Things just didn't come together.

Honestly, I kinda feel sorry for them. I was watching the launch stream, and producer Nick Yu just seemed so tired and demoralized. The chat was also just brutal. I've got to hand it to them for having the courage to put themselves in the cross hairs like that and even have a launch stream.

It was a candid stream, too. They acknowledged the issues people are having, the explosions that look like pizza, the 4 million dollar budget, etc. It was awkward how they tried to be apologetic while simultaneously standing by their product. Certainly not the triumphant launch that everyone would've hoped for two-and-a-half years ago.

Post by Leon on Jun 21, 2016 16:33:24 GMT -5

I don't think they deserve slack for biting off more than they can chew. This game is made by a team of veterans who have decades of industry experience, not a bunch of kids fresh out of college. They have experienced planners and producers who are supposed to know their limits, but they chose to sacrifice their product to get more money out of nostalgic fans.